1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle latch devices and more particularly pertains to a new vehicle latch assembly for a vehicle that carries cargo and has a cargo bed with a gate that is pivotal between a horizontal transporting condition and an inverted dumping condition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of vehicle latch devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, vehicle latch devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,192; U.S. Pat. No. 1,792,680; U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,729; U.S. Pat. No. 1,394,521; U.S. Pat. No. 2,226,901; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,419,636.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new vehicle latch assembly. The inventive device includes a latch for keeping the gate of the vehicle closed when the cargo bed is in the horizontal transporting condition. The latch comprises a hook portion that includes a bar formed thereon. In one embodiment of the present invention, the latch is positionable between a hook position and an unhooked position. The hook position is characterized by the bar being selectively abutted against the gate when the cargo bed is in the horizontal transporting condition. The unhooked position is characterized by the bar being positioned relatively away from the gate when the cargo bed is in the inverted dumping condition. An actuator assembly is mountable to the vehicle and operationally coupled to the latch for moving the latch between the hooked position and the unhooked position.
In these respects, the vehicle latch assembly according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of a vehicle that carries cargo and has a cargo bed with a gate that is pivotal between a horizontal transporting condition and an inverted dumping condition.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of vehicle latch devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new vehicle latch assembly construction wherein the same can be utilized for a vehicle that carries cargo and has a cargo bed with a gate that is pivotal between a horizontal transporting condition and an inverted dumping condition.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new vehicle latch assembly apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the vehicle latch devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new vehicle latch assembly which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art vehicle latch devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a latch for keeping the gate of the vehicle closed when the cargo bed is in the horizontal transporting condition. The latch comprises a hook portion that includes a bar formed thereon. In one embodiment of the present invention, the latch is positionable between a hook position and an unhooked position. The hook position is characterized by the bar being selectively abutted against the gate when the cargo bed is in the horizontal transporting condition. The unhooked position is characterized by the bar being positioned relatively away from the gate when the cargo bed is in the inverted dumping condition. An actuator assembly is mountable to the vehicle and operationally coupled to the latch for moving the latch between the hooked position and the unhooked position.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new vehicle latch assembly apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the vehicle latch devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new vehicle latch assembly which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art vehicle latch devices, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new vehicle latch assembly which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new vehicle latch assembly which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new vehicle latch assembly which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such vehicle latch assembly economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new vehicle latch assembly which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new vehicle latch assembly for a vehicle that carries cargo and has a cargo bed with a gate that is pivotal between a horizontal transporting condition and an inverted dumping condition.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new vehicle latch assembly which includes a latch for keeping the gate of the vehicle closed when the cargo bed is in the horizontal transporting condition. The latch comprises a hook portion that includes a bar formed thereon. In one embodiment of the present invention, the latch is positionable between a hook position and an unhooked position. The hook position is characterized by the bar being selectively abutted against the gate when the cargo bed is in the horizontal transporting condition. The unhooked position is characterized by the bar being positioned relatively away from the gate when the cargo bed is in the inverted dumping condition. An actuator assembly is mountable to the vehicle and operationally coupled to the latch for moving the latch between the hooked position and the unhooked position.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new vehicle latch assembly that ensures that the gate of the vehicle remains securely locked when the cargo bed is in the horizontal transporting condition.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new vehicle latch assembly that automatically activated when the cargo bed is moved between the horizontal transporting condition and the inverted dumping position. The automatic nature of the present invention removes the possibility of human error operating a latch device found in the prior art.